Not easy and definitely exhausting!

Today has been one of those days (weeks? months?) that have reminded me just how tough being a teacher is. I am the first to say that I LOVE teaching - to me, it really is the best.job. ever. Teaching, learning, and hanging out with pretty cool kids all day is a lot of fun. However, I am constantly amazed by just how much we do!

The past few weeks have included writing report cards, math professional development, meeting after meeting, and preparing for conferences. In addition to this, there's communicating with parents (luckily mine are much more wonderful than some that others have to deal with!), grading papers, preparing for projects, and actual teaching! Preparing lessons for the whole class and small groups, differentiating work for the highest to the lowest student, trying to read all of the chapter books that small groups are reading, and keeping on top of students to get things done. Whew - it's exhausting!

Most of the people in my life know how hard teachers work, either because they are one themselves or because they have teachers in their lives. So, this post isn't very surprising. But, sometimes I really do stop and think about just how much we do on a daily basis, especially when we're trying to do our job well. And for this reason, spring break can't come soon enough! :)

A Glimpse of Barcelona

Some friends shared this video on Facebook and I loved it as well. It gives a great glimpse of everything Barcelona has to offer. It reminded me yet again how much I have fallen in love with this city - what an amazing place to live!

Getting . . . younger?

I'm not exactly sure what's happening, but it seems that the closer I get to turning a year older, the younger I seem to be acting. I don't know if it's springtime in Barcelona, a carefree attitude, or unexpected events, but I feel I'm living the life of someone in their mid-20s, not someone entering her early 30s!

Again, I'm amazed by how life in Spain, especially Barcelona, encourages a whole new sleep cycle on the weekends! No matter how often Tessa and I say we are going to have a quiet night, or just a drink or two after work, it seems that the opposite happens. Suddenly it's 4am and we're still out, dancing, laughing, and loving life.

Unfortunately, I am quickly reminded of my age when it takes two days to recover from one late night. And I know that I can't stay up too late when I have to teach the next morning. (Maybe growing older has made me a little bit more responsible?)

Regardless, I'm happy to feel a bit younger as I get older. And these late nights continue to be full of entertaining stories. As spring fever sets in, I'm sure the fun weekends will continue as well - and I look forward to their arrival each week!

Bona nit, Dali!

Spring has Sprung!

Although I don't want to jinx it, it certainly seems like spring has arrived in Barcelona! The days are feeling so much longer, the weather is warmer, and the city seems to be bursting with people. I love it!

I´ve been reminded how spring is my most favorite season. It seems like everything is starting fresh and it's actually the time to begin resolutions. I look forward to everything this spring has to bring - trips to Croatia, Rome, and Amsterdam, lots of visitors, St. Patrick's Day, my birthday - so many fun events! I think it will be a great spring . . .

A Surprising Advertisement!

I was quite surprised last week when someone at school complimented me on a photo she saw in the newspaper. I had no idea what she was talking about! I came to find out that ASB had put a full page advertisement in La Vanguardia (one of the Barcelona daily papers), as well as in some other small publications - and I'm in it! (I'm happy to say that I don't mind the photo too much!)

Although many of us have been photographed for updates that are being made to the ASB website, the ad was a very last minute thing. Who knew I'd have a few moments in fame in the Sunday newspaper?!

Here's the link to see the ad: http://www.a-s-b.com/userfiles/pdf/asb.pdf

Not a 5th grade teacher for much longer . . .

I have to share some exciting news! It was just confirmed this week that I will not be teaching 5th grade next year. I LOVE 5th graders, but after six years with this grade level, I knew a change would be good for me professionally. I had expected to move down to primary grades, but instead I will actually be moving up to 6th grade!

Because we currently have three sections of 5th grade, they needed to create a third section in 6th for next year. In addition, ASB is moving forward (slowly, but surely!) with technology integration, readers/writers workshop and eventually instructional coaching. My director knows my background in literacy coaching and I approached him early on this year about really wanting to get back into this - my passion definitely lies in working with both kids and teachers.

So . . . next year I will be teaching "humanities," which is a combination of literacy and social studies, for half the day. I'm SO excited to teach social studies again - it's been years! (And I'm pretty happy to not be teaching math and science. :) The other half of my day will be spent working as a "technology integrator" in grades 4-7, helping teachers integrate technology projects into their lessons.

Although I think I know quite a bit about how to use technology as a demonstration tool (i.e. interactive whiteboards), I have a lot to learn about technology-based programs and software! For the past three years, I have been craving professional development - I miss the learning I was able to do at Crawford so much! I have a feeling that the next six months/year are going to be FULL of learning opportunities for me, which makes me so excited! Between possible technology training, writer's workshop training at ASB in June, and possibly attending the reader's workshop training in NYC this summer, I will certainly be learning a lot.

Needless to say, I'm really excited about this opportunity! Getting to work with teachers and students in a new way, moving back into more of a coaching role, teaching two-three subjects instead of four, and getting to spend another year with many of my fantastic kiddos - how lucky am I?!

A Week in Ireland

Tessa and I just returned from a week-long trip to Ireland and as expected, it was amazing! Ireland has been at the top of my travel destinations list for a long time, so it was great to finally be able to visit, especially with Tessa, who has been going there for years to see family.

A visit to the Guinness Storehouse started our trip!

We started our trip in Dublin, then drove to Ballinamore in Leitram, where we stayed with Tessa's grandmother for three nights. After that, we headed to Galway for two nights, then returned to Dublin for one more. It was a packed holiday! However, getting to see so many different places and have a variety of experiences is what made it such a great trip.

The weather on our drive to Galway was incredible - what a beautiful country!

It was wonderful to spend time with family, even though it wasn't mine. Since I've been without grandparents for about a decade now, it was so nice to be around a grandma again. I was also constantly amazed at just how big Irish families tend to be. I can't imagine having 50+ cousins like Tessa does, considering I only have six! In some ways, I think it would be great to have a family that big, but at the same time, it must be overwhelming, too.

Grandma Lena and I - such a lovely lady!

One of my favorite parts of both Galway and Dublin was the music. Live music was played in just about every pub we went to! We heard a variety of traditional Irish music, cover bands, and musicians playing in the streets. It was incredible to hear such good music consistently and it was so fun! Everyone (but especially Tessa and I!) would be singing along and it created such a happy vibe.

One of many bands we saw, but these two were especially great!

In both of these cities, we also met people from all over - Italy, Denmark, South Africa - and even met Christian Bale's doppleganger (wow!). In some ways, Dublin reminded me of Barcelona - the energy was palpable, which I loved. It was also confirmed that Tessa and I seem to be magnets for older men (maybe because of our American smiles?!) - this was often a bit uncomfortable, but it also saved us some money.

I LOVED the Temple Bar area!

As I had been told, the Irish really are some of the friendliest people around. No one is a stranger and they love to tell stories. The lilting accent and way of speaking made me happy to listen to anything they had to say! As expected, I was often mistaken for being Irish and I really wished I could say that I was (not centuries removed!).

Although I definitely need a break from the food and beer (how are Irish people not more overweight?!), I can't wait to go back. I definitely see another night or two in Dublin and a trip to Northern Ireland in my future . . .